Loaves of Bread
by OrionsMama
Summary: Who knew baking banana bread with Natsu would be such an adventure? This is a little story about Natsu being careless and Lucy finding comfort in a friend helping her remember her mother.
1. Chapter 1

It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted; but by the end of the day he knew he'd never be able to eat banana bread again

"You've crossed the line this time Natsu..." I hissed between my teeth.  
"Wha..? Whadda mean?" His face turned to a concerned, puzzled look.  
"I may have complained about you barging into my house before, but I've always overlooked it in the long run.. but not this time Natsu. This time.. I can't forgive you!" I had reached my boiling point. Angry tears escaped my eyes as I stepped towards him, my hands clenching into fists.  
"Luce, what's wrong? You ok?" His eyes were surprised when my fist connected with his cheek. I'd never seriously struck him before. I'll admit, the punch wasn't as strong as blows he'd taken from other people, but it had all my anger and frustration behind it, and that was enough for me.  
He rocked back on his heels and stumbled several paces back, barely catching himself before falling. A bruise was already forming where my knuckles had connected with his skin and he raised his hand to touch the sore.  
"Get out Natsu. Get. Out."  
For once he had the foresight to keep his mouth shut. He backed away, toward my window and pulled it open. With one last confused, apologetic glance he jumped out my window and onto the street below.  
I sank to the floor, my knees landing solidly on the wooden boards. Tears poured down my face, and now that Natsu was gone I felt stupid for my outburst. I shouldn't have hit him. I shouldn't have yelled or sent him away. I just couldn't help it though. He may not have meant any harm, but he really had gone too far in taking advantage of my usual hospitality.  
I looked up to my coffee table, at the crumbs leftover from my beautiful banana bread loaves. Sniffling, I swept them into a pile with my hands and dumped them in the trash. My feet scuffed along the floor before I sank onto my bed, defeated for the day. Closing my eyes brought back the memories.

" _Mommy, mommy! What are you making? Can I have some?"  
_ " _How do you know you want some if you don't know what it is?" My mother's beautiful laugh rang in my ears.  
_ " _So what is it?" My young voice asked.  
_ " _Banana bread. Your grandmother taught me how to make it. I'm baking some to take to her gravestone today, in remembrance."  
_ " _It smells super yummy, Mommy. If I help you make it, can I have some with you and Grandma?"_

The rest of my tears dried onto my pillow as my memories lulled me to sleep.

* * *

When I woke, moonlight was fighting its way in through my curtains. Everything was eerie and quiet; the noise from the street was gone and my eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness of my room.  
Rubbing away the rough trails my tears had left on my face I made my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. The hot water soothed my muscles that had been cramped with anger and I soon found myself letting all of the afternoon's crazy emotions go. Deep down I knew I was still mad at Natsu, but I wouldn't lose my temper with him again any time soon.  
I walked from the bathroom into the kitchen while drying my hair with a soft towel, stopping at my dresser for a pair of silky pajamas. With my towel slipping down over my forehead, I blindly grabbed the bottle of milk from the fridge and a glass from the cabinet. Turning, I tried to set them on the counter only to have my hands run into something. I carefully pushed the towel on my head back until it rested on my shoulders and I could see what was in front of me.  
Two store bought loaves of banana bread, the expensive kind you didn't find at just any grocery store. A note, handwritten with rough letters and a distinctive male hand, lay next to the bread

-Lucy, I'm sorry about the bread. I didn't save a piece for you. It was really good, so I get why you're mad. This stuff looked good too. I promise I won't take any. Natsu  
PS. I'm sorry I made you cry-

My first instinct was to laugh. Of course Natsu would assume I was mad because he didn't save me a piece of bread before he ate it all. Food was always that boy's first priority. And it was just like him to go out of his way to try and make up for something too; case in point, the expensive banana loaves.  
My second instinct was to be mad all over again. Buying loaves that someone else had made wouldn't make up for all the hours I'd spent pouring over my grandmother's recipe, making sure to follow each step perfectly, just like my mother had showed me to. There was no way I was going to use this bread as a gift for my mother's gravestone; it would be an insult. And a gift for my mom had been exactly what I was going to do with the banana bread I'd made earlier that morning. Tomorrow was the anniversary of her death and I had planned to remember her the way she always remembered her mother. And Natsu couldn't just waltz in, eat the precious loaves of bread I'd slaved over, and then try to replace them with store bought fluff.  
There was no way I was going to accept these. So I shoved them into a bag, along with the note he'd left, and resolved myself to giving them back to him tomorrow as soon as possible. Afterwards I would head into town and buy the ingredients necessary to start baking from scratch.  
Thoroughly exhausted, I propelled myself towards my bed once again. I tried my best to fall asleep quickly, but my mind wandered over everything tomorrow held in store for me. Hours passed before rest mercifully came over me.

* * *

I know this chapter is really short, but I'm just getting started, I promise! Anyway, please review for me. I'm still really new here, so I would love some criticism and support! Thank you!

 **Note: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Happy. It's awfully quiet in here this morning," I eyed the blue cat, curious about why he was alone.  
"Aye," he said simply, nibbling on the side of his breakfast. He clearly wasn't going to say any more without provocation.  
"So.. where's Natsu? It's odd for him to be missing out on any chances to cause trouble."  
To my surprise the Exceed sighed, setting his fish aside for the moment. It seemed as though he was actually going to to take me seriously.  
"He's at home still. He got back pretty late last night and wouldn't say where he'd been. Either way, he didn't get much sleep. I'm sure he'll be here soon though," he gave a small, hopeful smile. He was obviously worried about his friend.  
"Ok... Well, I think I'll go check on him. There's something I need to talk to him about anyway. See you later Happy." I got up from the bar and headed out for the little house Natsu and Happy called home.

* * *

It didn't take me long to reach his front door. I shifted the bag I was carrying to my other hand, jostling around the loaves of banana bread inside. With a deep breath in, I raised my hand to knock, only to have the door disappear inside as Natsu swung it open.  
"Oh.. hey Luce," he mumbled in my general direction. He made a point to look at anything but my face.  
"Hey Natsu. Happy said I'd find you here," I said, bending slightly to try and find his gaze. "Late night, huh?"  
"Uh, ya. I guess so." He was still avoiding my eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What's in the bag?" he ventured, quickly changing the subject.  
I tried my best not to sigh. The whole walk here I'd been trying to think of ways to bring up the reason I had the bread he'd bought with me. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I had to give the stuff back to him.  
I sucked in a breath and said, "Its the bread you bought me and left on my counter last night. I appreciate you trying to make things better, but I can't accept this. I know you didn't mean to upset me yesterday, but buying this stuff isn't what I wanted you to do."  
He finally looked at me and when he did, I wished he hadn't. His whole face looked miserable: tired and sad and so dejected at the same time. If I had to guess, I'd say he had spent most of the night worrying about yesterday.  
"You know I hate seeing girls cry, Lucy, especially you.. but if you don't want the bread then I just don't know how to make things up to you. I don't know what I did wrong!"  
"I know, Natsu, just let me explain," I placed the bag on the ground between us and massaged my temples. I was willing myself to stay calm as my outburst from the previous afternoon played through my head. "Look, it wasn't about you eating all of my bread and not sharing. It was the fact that I slaved over those loaves all day and you just barged in, like usual, and ate them without even thinking about it!" I had to take a breath and step back. I had unconsciously moved towards him while I talked and I reminded myself to relax.  
"I didn't make that banana bread for the fun of it, Natsu. Today is the anniversary of when my mom died.. and the bread was for her," I did my best to swallow back the tears that came, unwanted, to my eyes. "She always made banana bread for her mother's gravestone, to help her keep all the good times they had together alive. So when my mom passed away I told myself I'd always do the same for her." I looked up at the sky as memories of a kitchen that smelled of bananas and sugar came to mind. "This is the first anniversary of her being gone that I've had since I left home.. so it was really important to me for everything to be perfect..."  
My breath came out in a squeak when he wrapped his arms around me. The hug caught me so off guard I couldn't even raise my arms to return it.  
"I'm so sorry Luce," his words were muffled by my hair as he laid his head against mine, his lips just above my ear. "I'm sorry for being such a horrible friend. If I promise to never barge into your house again, will you let me try and make all of this up to you?"  
I giggled. I knew he was being serious and my answer would mean a lot to him, but I couldn't stop a few giggles from escaping.  
"You can barge into my house whenever you want Natsu," I said, raising my arms to wrap around his shoulders. "I don't mind that much. But if you want to make things up to me.. well I guess I could let you help me bake some more banana bread."  
He pulled away and held me at arms length. His signature goofy grin was finally plastered on his face. I didn't realize how much I loved that smile until I saw him so upset this morning.  
"Well then let's go make some banana bread!" he laughed. Grabbing my hand he spun me around and drug me towards town.  
I laughed as my feet struggled to keep up with his quick pace. Leave it to Natsu to bounce back in the blink of an eye. With such a breakneck recovery time I knew this boy was going to be the death of me; but I couldn't have cared less.

* * *

Here it is, chapter 2 up and done! This one isn't quite as long as the last chapter, and I definitely thought about adding more to it, but I liked the way it ended. So I figure I'll just put the rest of my ideas into chapter 3 :) please read and review for me!  
Oh, and I'm also wondering if anyone has any tips for how to put in tab spaces. I keep trying to put extra spaces in at the beginning of each paragraph break to give more definition between where one paragraph ends and the next begins, but every time I save and publish the spaces disappear. All that happens when I press tab is my cursor vanishing into some abyss. If its not possible and I'm just being too picky, let me know and I'll get over myself :)  
Either way, I hope you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

"So.. what's next?"  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you sounded scared, Natsu," I laughed, noticing the flour powdering his nose. I tossed a dish rag at his face and laughed again as he glared at me.  
"I am not scared!" he fumed, throwing the rag to the side without cleaning and of the flour off. "I just never knew baking was so complicated..." he deflated and looked away.  
"It's not that hard, you big baby. And next we need to add the bananas," I passed him the plate with two ripe yellow fruits on it, pre-sliced for easy mashing. "The secret to my grandmother's recipe was adding the bananas last, so that the color of the bread doesn't turn brown. So go ahead and squish these up and then stir them in."  
He gave me an apprehensive glance before picking up my potato masher and getting to work, mumbling something about it being easier to eat at the guild.  
I chuckled to myself and started to prepare the loaf pans for the oven.  
' _Who knew baking with Natsu would be such an adventure,_ ' I thought to myself.  
We had already wasted more ingredients in the last half hour than I ever had trying to bake banana bread before. He kept getting frustrated and setting things on fire, the result being my kitchen in a smoky, stinky mess with burned utensils and the remains of a charred bag of flour in my sink.  
With a sigh I set the greased pans in front of Natsu, who immediately gave them a condescending sneer as though they had personally insulted him.  
"What now? More weird instructions? Do I have to melt these down and mix them in too?"  
"No, stupid; you have to pour the batter into them and then put them in the oven.. without melting anything!" I watched him closely as he evenly measured the mixture into the two bread pans on the counter. He made a bit of a mess, but the majority of the batter made its way into the pans, so I was more or less pleased.  
"And now we wait. They take just a little over an hour to bake, so its gonna get boring now. You can go do something else if you'd like," I offered, knowing how impatient my fiery friend could be.  
"Nah, I'll stick around. I got nothing better to do today. Get any good channels on your tv?" He sauntered off into my living room, helping himself to my couch and not waiting for an answer.  
I sighed again, 'What a pest; making a giant mess all afternoon and then strolling away to watch television as if I'd done nothing but bore him today,' I mused. At least he had helped make more bread though; I could give him that much credit.  
As I heard him scroll through networks on my little tv I resigned myself to cleaning my disaster of a kitchen. I started by throwing away all the garbage and ruined utensils, mentally calculating just how much of Natsu's reward money I would be withholding after our next mission in order to cover the cost of new ones. Once the counter was clean and all the saveable dishes were in the sink, I started running the water in preparation to wash them. The sound of the water drowned out the noise from my living room and soon I found myself forgetting I wasn't alone.  
A tune hummed its way out of my mouth as I scrubbed dishes and set them on the rack to be dried. I was quickly lost in the world of my mind, singing to myself and imagining my perfect evening picnic at my mother's memorial site. The smell of the banana bread heating in the oven added to my bliss and I was so caught up in my good thoughts that I never heard Natsu reenter the kitchen and ask for something to eat.  
It wasn't until warm, strong hands were on my shoulders and Natsu was turning me around to face him that I broke free of my mental illusion and screamed in surprise.  
"What the hell, Natsu? Do you have to sneak up on me all the time? You could have said something, or cleared your throat, or, I don't know, walked a little louder!" I tried to catch my breath and slow my racing heart. Once I got over the shock of him startling me I looked up, only to realize just how close our faces were. I was pinned between the sink and his chest and he was sparing me no personal space.  
"I called your name Luce. It's not my fault you were off in Lalaland, humming and dancing."  
' _I was dancing?_ ' I thought to myself, a blush rising on my cheeks.  
"What are you so happy about anyway? I thought you'd be upset after how bad I was at helping you make the bread.." he looked at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck dejectedly, stepping back from me.  
"Natsu, just because you're a horrible baker doesn't mean you ruined my day. I'm just thankful that you helped me make more bread for my mom. I was thinking about how nice my little picnic at her gravestone is going to be tonight; I guess that's why I'm so happy," I smiled at him, putting my hands on the edge of the sink counter behind me.  
He didn't perk up at my words like I thought he would. Usually he was so quick to bounce back, but something was obviously eating at him. Leaning forward, I tilted my head and tried to read his face.  
"What's wrong Natsu? I promise I'm not mad at you. You really didn't do that badly for your first time baking. I bet these loaves will come out just as good as the first ones," I said cheerfully, hoping he would pick up on the mood.  
"Lucy..." he said softly, still not meeting my eyes. He took a slow step forward, then another. He was back to being right in front of me, closing me in between his warm body and the sink. Raising his head, he finally looked at me, his eyes full of an emotion that I couldn't decipher. Without a word he slipped his arms around my waist loosely and placed his forehead on my shoulder. Unlike the hug he'd given me earlier that morning, I wasn't in to much shock to return this one right away. I gently laid my arms across his back and leaned my cheek into his hair. I wasn't sure what was making him act so sensitively, but I could tell he just needed a little quiet comfort.  
"Lucy," he spoke again, lifting his head off my shoulder, but maintaining the hug, "I know I don't deserve your patience, but thanks for forgiving me for yesterday. And for always putting up with me; I know I'm a pain. It means a lot to have someone care enough to stick with me." He finally gave a small smile, but nothing close to his trademark grin.  
I laughed softly and shuffled closer so I could wrap my arms around him tighter and give him a squeeze.  
"You are a pain," I admitted to him, still holding him tight, "but my life wouldn't be the same without you in it. So I guess that means I'll be sticking with you for as long as I can." I pulled away and smiled up at him, watching as his face started to light up and his lips pulled back into a full ear-to-ear grin.  
"You're so weird Luce," he laughed, stepping away from me and towards the fridge, "cuz you have no idea what its going to be like to stick with me forever. You know this means I'm going to start working out here at your house more often, right?" He laughed again as he ducked to avoid the wooden spoon I'd grabbed from the drying rack and sent flying at his head. Closing the fridge he ran to the living room, dodging more flying dishes, his arms loaded down with all the groceries I'd bought for the week.

* * *

"This place sure is nice. I guess that's to be expected of a super rich family like yours though." Natsu grinned at me as we walked up to my mother's gravestone.  
"Ya, well, for all my dad's shortcomings he did love my mom; he made sure no expense was spared when it came to her memorial." I set down the picnic basket I had packed as Natsu handed me the blanket he had carried with him. Spreading the blanket out in front of the stone, I knelt down and began to unpack the banana bread and simple ham sandwiches from the basket. Normally I would've made the picnic a little more elaborate, but it was already evening and I didn't want to stay out too late and have the train ride home be at midnight.  
I passed Natsu a sandwich and we both ate in silence while watching as birds settled into their nests for the night. I twisted so my back was against the upright stone of my mother's grave and stretched my legs out in front of me, relaxing as a cool breeze passed through the trees. Natsu, having already finished his sandwich along with every other one I had made, stretched out on his back with one arm under his head and the other over his chest.  
"Thanks for bringing me with you Luce," he said, turning his head to look at me and smile. "I know this place must be special to you."  
"It is, but not so special that I don't want to share it with the people I care about," I returned his smile, brushing crumbs from my hands and lap as I finished my own food. Leaning forward I grabbed the two packages of banana bread I had carefully wrapped after pulling them from the oven earlier.  
"Here Mom," I said, turning around and sitting on my knees in front of the shelf at the base of her headstone, "I made some of Grandma's bread for you. I hope it's just as good as when we would make it together." I paused and set one loaf of the bread down by a bouquet of flowers someone, my father perhaps, had left for her.  
' _I miss you Mom._ '  
"I bet she's proud of you Lucy," Natsu said, coming up beside me and kneeling down, putting his arm around my shoulders.  
"I hope so. I know she'd be proud that I joined Fairy Tail; she always wanted me to follow my dreams," I smiled and leaned against Natsu's side for a moment. It was nice to have someone here with me, someone who cared about me and who I cared about in return.  
"So.. is this other loaf of bread for us to have?" he asked, turning back around and pulling the other loaf towards him and taking the plastic wrap off.  
"You're lucky it is, otherwise I'd be mad that you were unwrapping it without waiting for me to answer you first!" I grabbed a knife from the picnic basket and sliced off two generous helpings of the aromatic dessert bread. Passing him one of the slices, I held mine up to toast with, "Thanks for helping me make this banana bread for my mom Natsu."  
"To your mom!" he said, shoving the whole piece in his mouth and grabbing for more  
"To my mom," I laughed.  
For how much he annoyed me, I knew that it was going to become tradition to have Natsu help me make bread for my mother and I knew I'd always invite him to come with me to her gravestone. He might be a bottomless pit and a pain in my neck, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

I'm really pleased with how this little story turned out, it being my first big fanfic and all :) I hope you all liked it as much as I do! Please read and review for me! Maybe I'll write another Fairy Tail fanfic someday. For now my plans are to work on an original piece which is going to center around Alzheimer's disease. I'm still working out the finer details of where I want it to go, but I'm hoping to turn it into a serious story eventually; maybe even long enough to be a book :)  
Anyway, that's all for now! Thank you for all the support with this story!

 **Note: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters!**


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